Editing Sovereignty (section)

==Justifications==
There exist vastly differing views on the moral basis of sovereignty. A fundamental polarity is between theories which assert that sovereignty is vested directly in the sovereigns by divine or natural right, and theories which assert it originates from the people. In the latter case there is a further division into those which assert that the people effectively transfer their sovereignty to the sovereign (Hobbes), and those which assert that the people retain their sovereignty (Rousseau).<ref>Tuck, Richard (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=RCZoCwAAQBAJ ''The Sleeping Sovereign: The Invention of Modern Democracy'']. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. {{ISBN|9781316425503}}</ref>

During the brief period of [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarchies]] in Europe, the [[divine right of kings]] was an important competing justification for the exercise of sovereignty. The [[Mandate of Heaven]] had similar implications in China for the justification of the Emperor's rule, though it was largely replaced with discussions of Western-style sovereignty by the late 19th century.<ref>Mitchell, Ryan Martínez (2022). [https://books.google.com/books?id=K7qVEAAAQBAJ ''Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law'']. Cambridge University Press. pp. 32, 52, 63. {{ISBN|9781108690157}}</ref>

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, retain sovereignty over the government and where offices of state are not granted through heritage.<ref name="Britannica2">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Republic|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>[[Montesquieu]], ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'' (1748), Bk. II, ch. 1.</ref> A common modern definition of a republic is a government having a [[head of state]] who is not a monarch.<ref name="WordNet">{{Cite journal |title=republic |journal=WordNet 3.0 |access-date=20 March 2009 |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/republic }}</ref><ref name="M-W">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Republic|encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic|access-date=14 August 2010}}</ref>

Democracy is based on the concept of ''[[popular sovereignty]]''. In a [[direct democracy]] the public plays an active role in shaping and deciding policy. [[Representative democracy]] permits a transfer of the exercise of sovereignty from the people to a [[legislature|legislative body]] or an executive (or to some combination of the legislature, executive and [[Judiciary]]). Many representative democracies provide limited direct democracy through [[referendum]], [[Popular initiative|initiative]], and [[recall election|recall]].

[[Parliamentary sovereignty]] refers to a representative democracy where the parliament is ultimately sovereign, rather than the executive power or the judiciary.